George Shelton

Hi Tim:Your post re: Geo Shelton caught my eye as this is also my grandfather's name.Not the same man but as I've been seeking a Shelton-Tipton connection, I decided to reply. One of the names my grandfather mentioned to me a relatives was TIPTON. His family was in Virginia near the NC border. His family names include NAPIER, HURST, ALLEN and CORN. I would appreciate any info you find on SHELTON-TIPTON connections. My Geo Shelton-1881-1978 VA. YOu may view my names at my site at:http://www.homestead.com/VirginiaRoots/VAROOTS.html and you may contact me at Dreamsun39@aol.comDebbie

George Shelton

I have a George B. Shelton listed on my side of thefamily. I have his birthday listed as 2/22/1914 and date of death was 4/74. He was from the Pekin Tazwell county Illinois. Father was Cyrus Richard Shelton and mother was Mary M. Myers.

Re: George Shelton

Hi Barb!! George was my grandpa. You have his info correct!! I'm so excited!! You are the only one to have asked about him. George had 3 sons. Vernon, Richard Lee, and Charles Everett. I'm Charles' daughter Erica. I have a sister Angela. I have 3 children, Kevin Charles Walters, Rachel Elizabeth Kettle, Anna Mae Rose Kettle. My sister has a daughter Amber Jean Vicary-Mcgarr. We are the only descendents of George that i know of. He has a brother named Dwight. Other than that i don't know much. He was a WWII vet. He was an electrican for the Navy SeaBees. He received a few medals in the war. He began AA in Pekin. I was 5 when he passed from bone cancer. I have never found the link to the Shelton gang. My grandmother Imogene Wilkens never told me the connection. She claimed that we were in fact connected. I have never found the missing link. If you could fill in the links that would be great.

Re: George Shelton

You mention the Shelton family referred to in Illinois genealogy as "The Shelton Gang". I have a magazine article published about this family in about the 1950s (date based on references in the article as I forgot to write the date and title of the magazine on the article when I photocopied it years ago and I no longer remember that data but I think it was one of two news magazines no longer published, entitled "Look" and "Life".)

I am inserting below a document on The Shelton Gang" which I compiled from data in that magazine article plus research I did in the U. S. Census records.

1. WILLIAM (WILSON) A.1 SHELTON was born 1824 in Kentucky, and died Bet. 1881 - 1900 in Wayne County, Illinois. He married PAULINE (MAIDEN SURNAME NOT FOUND).

Notes for WILLIAM (WILSON) A. SHELTON:Research I have done in Kentucky and Missouri -- where this man stopped on his way to Illinois -- indicate that his name is William A. Shelton instead of the Wilson A. Shelton (as his name in the 1880 Wayne County, Illinois, census is recorded as "Wilson" and it is impossible to tell from the census if he used "Wilson" as his name in his Illinois records or if this is a recording mistake by the census enumerator)).

In Kentucky and Missouri censuses where he stopped on his way from Kentucky to Illinois, William A. Shelton has a wife with the same name, place of birth, year of birth, also the same children with the same year of birth, place of birth as "Wilson A. Shelton". Since Wilson's wife's name is Perlina or Polina, it stretches credibility to believe it is not the same family, as Perlina or Polina is not a frequently used name.

The 1860 U. S. census for Hopkins County, Kentucky, listed:William A. Shelton, age 37, born in KentuckyPolina Shelton, age 30, born in VirginiaJoseph A. Shelton, age 8, born in KentuckyWilliam L. Shelton, age 5, born in KentuckyElizabeth A. Shelton, age 3, born in KentuckyJohn T. Shelton, age 1, born in Kentucky

The 1870 U. S. census for Carter County, Missouri, listed this family as follows:William Shelton, age 46, b. Ky.Perlina Shelton, age 41, b. Va.Joseph A. Shelton, age 18, b. Ky.William L. Shelton, age 15, b. Ky.Allwelida E. Shelton, age 12, b. Ky. [This is Elizabeth Shelton in above listing.]John T. Shelton, age 11, b. Ky.Benjamin Shelton, age 9, b. Ky.Marion Shelton, age 6, b. KyRobert Shelton, age 4, b. Ky.Albert Shelton, age 1, b. Ky. (Albert's age indicates William Shelton moved from Kentucky to Missouri between 1869-1870 as Albert was born in Kentucky in 1869 but the family was living in Missouri on the date of the 1870 census.)

2. BEN SHELTON (WILLIAM (WILSON) A.1) was born 1861 in Kentucky, and died 1944 in Beech Bluff Road, Fairfield, Wayne County, Illinois. He married AGNES GATHER. She was born 1862 in Illinois.

Notes for BEN SHELTON:Ben married AGNES GATHER. She was born 1862 in Illinois. Her father was Beelia Gaither, listed in the 1880 U. S. Wayne County, Illinois, census as age 57, born in1823 in Alabama, with his father born in Virginia and his mother born in Tennessee. His wife was C. Ann Gaither, age 54, born in 1826 in Tennessee with her father born in Tennessee and her mother born in North Carolina. His children were daughter, Agnes, age 14 years which made her born in 1866 instead of 1862 as given in the magazine tree; daughter, Florence, age 11 years, born in 1869; and son, Leondus , age 8, born in 1872. All three of the Gather children were born in Illinois.

The information given here comes from a magazine article entitled "Gunfire Lays Low One More Shelton" and the article, based on references therein, appears to have been published in the 1950s. (I failed to write the title of the magazine on the article when I photocopied it a number of years ago but I believe it was one of two news magazines no longer published entitled (1) “Look” or (2) “Life”.)

This article states: "The booze-running Sheltons made enemies when they fought the raiding Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s and then battled the Birger gang in warfare employing machine guns, armored cars, a tank and a bombing plane." (The engagement with the Birger gang sounds like a rather active endeavor but fighting the Ku Klux Klan, in my view, is redemptive.) Besides "booze-running" they apparently also got into trouble with the Chicago mobs over the lucrative gambling proceeds in "Little Egypt", being Southern Illinois.

The article contains a family tree beginning with Ben and shows his wife, Agnes, and his sons and grandsons. I found Ben Shelton in the 1920 U. S. census for Wayne County, Illinois, living on Beech Bluff Road, listed as 55 years of age, born in Kentucky. His wife was named Agnes, 53 years of age, born in Illinois. He also had two daughters in his household, Hazel, age 16 years, and Lula, age 10 years.

The 1880 Wayne County, Illinois, census lists appears to list Ben Shelton still resident in the household of his father, Wilson A. Shelton, age 56 years, farmer, born in Kentucky with his father and mother born in Virginia. His wife was Pauline, age 51 years, born in Virginia with both her parents born in Virginia. The children resident in the household were:son, William L. Shelton, age 25 years, born in Kentuckydaughter, Elizabeth Shelton, age 23 years, born in Kentuckyson, Thomas Shelton, age 22 years, born in Kentuckyson, Benjamin Shelton, age 18 years, born in Kentuckyson, Mearion Shelton, age 17 years, born in Kentucky (His name is "Marion" in other censuses)son, Leander Shelton, age 14 years, born in Kentuckyson, Abner Shelton, age 12 years, born in Kentucky

Living next door was most probably another son, Joseph Shelton, age 27 years, born in Kentucky with his father born in Kentucky and his mother born in Virginia. His wife was Mary, age 28 years, born in Illinois with both her parents born in Illinois. His children were son, Charles H., age 6 years; son,Devin, age 5 years; son, Leroy, age 4 years; and son, William, age 1 year. So Joseph is shown in this tree as a son of Wilson A. and Polina or Perlina or Pauline. (The census enumerators certainly had a problem with the spelling of her name!)

The 1910 IL census shows Ben as Ben M. Shelton; therefore, his middle name started with an "M". Agnes is his wife and the children resident are Dalta, Bernie and a daugther Hazel, age 6 years, and a daughter Lulu, age one year. The 1920 census shows Ben, Agnes, Hazel and Lulu. The 1930 census shows Ben, Agnes and Lulu.

iii. EARL "BIG EARL" SHELTON, b. 1890.Notes for EARL "BIG EARL" SHELTON:In 1949 a gunman climbed on the roof of a garage where "Big Earl" was playing pinochle with friends in the Shelton-run Farmers Club and shot him resulting in hospitalization. In 1950 "Big Earl" was fired on again in a car in which he was being driven on Pond Creek bridge and nicked in the arm.

iv. BERNIE SHELTON, b. 1899; d. 1948, Peoria, Illinois.Notes for BERNIE SHELTON:He was killed in 1948 when he walked outside a gambling club he owned in Peoria. A gunman fired one shot from a high-powered rifle from the woods a 109 feet away and Bernie fell to the ground. The assassin vanished.

4. v. DALTA SHELTON, b. 1900.

3. JOSEPH SHELTON (WILLIAM (WILSON) A.1) was born 1853. He married MARY (MAIDEN SURNAME NOT FOUND).

4. DALTA3 SHELTON (BEN2, WILLIAM (WILSON) A.1) was born 1900.Notes for DALTA SHELTON:He has never been ambushed. Dalta was listed in the 1930 U. S. census for Wayne County, Illinois, with his wife named Lillie, age 36 years; son Edward, age 17 years; daughter Dortha, age 13 years;son Earl, age 11 years; and son Carl, age 5 years.